#005 CAUSE OF DEATH - Giving up is no option

podcast_19594_causeofdeath_the_pdcst_with_marcell_engel_episode_169794_005_causeofdeath_givinigup_is_no_option-1.mp3

#005 Cause of Death: Giving up is no option280 kilo woman in apartment building.

#005 Cause of Death: An unruffled woman calls the crime scene cleaner to her sister's apartment. The overweight sister is found dead in her bedroom. Crime scene cleaner Marcell Engel tells us how it happened.

#005 Cause of Death: Cause of Death. The podcast with Marcell Engler.

#005 Cause of Death: It will happen every now and then in my podcast that we dive very deeply into what is happening. I will talk about it openly. By that I mean that liquids, such as, blood as an element will be the smallest problem. I am looking forward of taking you on a mind trip into my world as a crime scene cleaner. 

#005 Cause of Death: Cause of Death. The podcast with Marcell Engel.

#005 Cause of Death: Hi, this is yours truly Marcell and I'm glad you joined me for a new episode of my podcast, Cause of Death. Today's episode is about the topic "Giving up is not an option". All of us are different. One struggles more, the other struggles less. But in principle, there are things that are always worth fighting for. And if life is not the most essential thing we have, then I don't know what else could be more important. And precisely, because I had an experience that moved me very much, I would like to tell you about it here today.

#005 Cause of Death: Cause of Death. The Podcast. The crime scene.

We have been called to an assignment that began in a very unusual way. We were standing in front of a residential building and balconies were arranged above the sidewalk. One of these balconies was covered with a glass facade, like a kind of winter garden. The whole thing was designed as a living space, and liquid dripped from this balcony onto the path. At the time, the client was the sister of the owner of this apartment, and at the time we had no idea what to expect. It was actually assumed that it could somehow be a damage that was now coming from the sewer lines. So, the definition of the problem was not clear at all at this moment. In our portfolio we offer to open doors and then diagnose and look at such damage. And that's how it was. The reason for the assignment could not yet be properly defined, so we first carried out a diagnosis. So, we came to the apartment door and when I stood in front of the apartment door, I wanted to warn the sister based on the smell I knew, that typical, sweet smell of corpse. I told her: Watch out, what I know from my professional experience is that we actually have a crime scene here. So, I don't think we're talking about water damage, from a special cleaning in the usual sense, but I think we should be prepared for a corpse discovery.

Our client was shocked. Nevertheless, she wanted clarity and accordingly. After opening the door, we went into the apartment together, and in the living room we were irritated by a sticky liquid on the shoes. The whole living room and the parquet floor was swollen and the bedroom itself was closed. But you could see below the door slit, that this liquid probably ran from the bedroom into the living room. I then told her: Watch out, we might have to consider calling in the police. It wasn't clear yet weather we would find a body, but I just wanted to prepare her already for the official procedures we need to pay attention to. We opened the bedroom door and the most horrible suspicion on my part was confirmed. Her sister had probably been laying there on her bed for several weeks and the decomposition process itself was also well advanced. You have to add that her sister, so she told me before, had a weight of over 280 kilograms shortly before her death and accordingly a lot of liquid has leaked out of the corpse. A lot of fat. It was a very disgusting, greasy cocktail that caused massive odor.

And that drip on the sidewalk was the corpse fluid that practically seeped through the building and dripped onto the public area. We first called 911 based on that situation. That's the usual procedure. First of all, death must be detected, even if it is of course directly recognizable. The time of death must be defined. And in such a case, the criminal investigation department also comes in order to be able to rule out a violent crime and, if necessary, to implement evidence recovery measures on site. This means that we have cancelled the assignment at this point, and have agreed that we will continue the measure as soon as the area where her sister was found has been released. Two days later, the time had come. We met at the location and together we secured the evidence and documents, a so-called property securing. We really look through all the furniture, is there a document somewhere? Is there anything important somewhere that needs to be secured and are there valuables etc.? And during that, we had a long talk and she let me take deep insights into her sister's life before death. The victim. And I then asked her: "Tell me, how did it happen that your sister got to such a massive body weight in the first place?" Then she told me her whole life story.

So, her sister was a highly successful stock market boom broker who had earned millions in her time up to the age of 30. Not only the apartment belonged to her, but the entire property with over 32 units. She was also extremely athletic, extremely successful in her semi-professional sport. She followed the equestrian sport. She was a skier; she went jogging and really had a lot of leisure activities. And then more incomprehensible this conversation becomes to me: how can this be brought into harmony with the found state? At first, it didn't appear to me at all. And then she told me: Yes, she also paid special attention to her diet. And the more I heard about how her life was before, the more perplexed I was. And then she explained to me the key. The key of the problem was that when she was riding, she had a serious riding accident five years ago. In that riding accident, she injured her spine. Very dramatic, because on that day of the accident, her whole life suddenly changed. She had to take painkillers; she had an operation on her back. The operation did not improve anything.

So, her sister was a highly successful stock market boom broker who had earned millions in her time up to the age of 30. Not only the apartment belonged to her, but the entire property with over 32 units. She was also extremely athletic, extremely successful in her semi-professional sport. She followed the equestrian sport. She was a skier; she went jogging and really had a lot of leisure activities. And then more incomprehensible this conversation becomes to me: In her eyes it only got worse back then. And in the end, she let herself go more and more. She no longer paid attention to her diet, was only at home, withdrew from her entire social environment. She had friends from her sport activities who tried to help her. And all these people still cared about her, but she didn’t accept their help because she felt no longer a part of this society. And all this even led her to the point a year before her death to cut off contact with her sister, and the two of them must have loved each other a lot, they had a really great sisterly relationship. She completely canceled the contact and withdrew into her shell and at that time probably already weighed 250 kilograms. And then it happened, that her sister couldn't approach her either. As the autopsy later revealed, she died miserably on her bed in her bedroom. She perished from her behavior towards herself. She executed herself.

So, her sister was a highly successful stock market boom broker who had earned millions in her time up to the age of 30. Not only the apartment belonged to her, but the entire property with over 32 units. She was also extremely athletic, extremely successful in her semi-professional sport. She followed the equestrian sport. She was a skier; she went jogging and really had a lot of leisure activities. And then more incomprehensible this conversation becomes to me: Cause of Death. The podcast. The profilier.

I thought to myself at the time, how can something like this happen? How can someone who is so successful in life, who is so active, who takes care of himself, how can she fall so deeply? We all know that about ourselves, everyone has a stroke of fate and that may be really rough, but life as such is the greatest gift that we have. And no matter how big the blow of fate is, we still have to deal with this situation. And if we can't manage it ourselves, then there should perhaps be someone there who loves you and who helps you in this situation. I then looked at the sister, my client, and thought to myself: Man, you've experienced something like that yourself. I myself had a person who was very, very close to me from my family, whom I wanted to help personally and who did not let me get close to him. I was the only one who was left now for him. Unfortunately, my dear person also died and I kept asking myself: why wasn't I allowed to help? Why did he give up on himself? I personally felt that way. Giving up is not an option, no matter what kind of stroke of fate we are faced with. The most important thing we have is our life. And if we are not so selfish and only think about ourselves, then it's also about the lives of the people we love, who accompany us. Friends, acquaintances, family. Giving up should never be an option. In that sense: thank you very much for listening to me. I would be happy if you tune in again next time about my podcast Cause of Death. Until next time. Bye, your Marcell.

I thought to myself at the time, how can something like this happen? How can someone who is so successful in life, who is so active, who takes care of himself, how can she fall so deeply? We all know that about ourselves, everyone has a stroke of fate and that may be really rough, but life as such is the greatest gift that we have. And no matter how big the blow of fate is, we still have to deal with this situation. And if we can't manage it ourselves, then there should perhaps be someone there who loves you and who helps you in this situation. I then looked at the sister, my client, and thought to myself: That's it for the new episode of Cause of Death. The podcast with Marcell Engel, head of his own special unit and crime scene cleaner at more than 12000 locations around the world. What can Marcell clean-up for you? Anytime. Worldwide. Get in touch or just click through to www.MarcellEngel.com. Empathic. Profound. Honest. Cause of death is guaranteed to not leave you cold.

I thought to myself at the time, how can something like this happen? How can someone who is so successful in life, who is so active, who takes care of himself, how can she fall so deeply? We all know that about ourselves, everyone has a stroke of fate and that may be really rough, but life as such is the greatest gift that we have. And no matter how big the blow of fate is, we still have to deal with this situation. And if we can't manage it ourselves, then there should perhaps be someone there who loves you and who helps you in this situation. I then looked at the sister, my client, and thought to myself: Join us!

I thought to myself at the time, how can something like this happen? How can someone who is so successful in life, who is so active, who takes care of himself, how can she fall so deeply? We all know that about ourselves, everyone has a stroke of fate and that may be really rough, but life as such is the greatest gift that we have. And no matter how big the blow of fate is, we still have to deal with this situation. And if we can't manage it ourselves, then there should perhaps be someone there who loves you and who helps you in this situation. I then looked at the sister, my client, and thought to myself: I'm excited. Subscribe to the season and you won't be late for an episode.